Making its move: Dover tops Memorial

DOVER — The Dover High School boys basketball team felt it had gone too deep into the season without making a statement win against a Division I contender.

It got one on Friday night.

The Green Wave scrapped their way to a 74-62 win over Division I Manchester Memorial at Ollie Adams Gymnasium. It was Memorial’s first loss of the season, including its own holiday tournament.

“Mixing up the defenses and getting them to stay off balance was our game plan going in,” Dover coach Mike Romps said. “The kids did a great job executing it.”

Josh Cote led Dover with 23 points, which included four 3-pointers, one of which put Dover up 64-58 late in the fourth quarter. From there, the talented but undisciplined Crusaders self-destructed with three technical fouls down the stretch (they had four total on the night). Dover hit nine of 10 free throws in the final minute to put the game on ice.

Colin Shaughnessy and Mike Wons each scored 18 points for Dover (2-2), which snapped a two-game D-I losing streak. Wons went down hard on a play early in the fourth quarter and was helped off the court. He did not return and was on crutches after the game, but said he believed it was just a sprain.

“We lost two close games against very good teams,” Wons said. “But that’s not enough. You have to finish one of them. So finally, we got a win against a big team and made a statement.”

Memorial’s 6-foot-4 forward Tong Akat led the Crusaders with 16 points and made life difficult for the Green Wave in the paint. Zoubel Iradukunda scored 12 for Memorial and Kabongo Ngalakulondi scored 10.

An 8-0 run late in the third quarter gave Dover its first lead since midway through the second quarter, and the Green Wave did not trail again. Dover led 52-49 after three stops and held a 61-56 advantage midway through the final frame after an acrobatic layup by Billy Carroll.

Dover did well to maintain a lead through the first quarter and most of the second, despite Memorial’s significant height advantage. The Green Wave struggled with offensive rebounds, but were patient under the basket as Shaughnessy, Grant Faustino, Kam Towle and Cote came up with big baskets.

A Wons layup gave Dover a 25-18 lead early in the second quarter, its biggest lead of the first half, but Manchester responded with a 12-2 run to take its first lead of the night. Wons, who drained a pair of big baseline 3-pointers in the first quarter, attempted a three in the final seconds of the half that went in and out, and Dover had to settle for trailing 30-29 at the break.

Akat put Memorial on his back in the early going of the third quarter, taking it strong to the basket for eight of the Crusaders’ first 11 points of the frame as the visitors took a 41-34 lead.

“I told them to calm down and make layups,” Romps said. “Make open shots. That’s been the story of our year so far. When we make shots and make free throws and layups, we can play with anybody. And that’s what happened tonight.”

A baseline, nothing-but-net 3-pointer by Carroll stopped the bleeding and sparked an 11-5 run by the Green Wave, and Dover took a three point lead into the final frame.